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Let's
Get Creative
1123 Meadow View Lane
De Pere WI 54115
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THE REST OF
THE STORY
Monty Harper
Monty Harper began his children's music career in 1989
with a volunteer performance at his local library. He
has written many dozens of songs celebrating books,
libraries, and reading over the intervening two decades,
and has performed for many thousands of kids and parents
at libraries in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. His two
most popular and award-winning CDs, Take Me to Your
Library (2003), and Paws Claws Scales and Tales (2006),
each focus on previous summer reading themes. Monty is
the host of The Program Room, a podcast for children's
librarians, and is presenting workshops on creativity
for all the public children's librarians in Oklahoma and
Kansas this Spring.
Mr. Billy
After navigating successful careers as a rock guitarist
and internet marketer, Mr. Billy reinvented himself yet
again in 2002. This time it was a visit to his son's
classroom that opened his eyes to the rewards of singing
for children. In just a few short years he became the
preeminent children's act of the Green Bay WI area,
performing for hundreds of Wisconsin, Minnesota,
Michigan and Illinois libraries each year. Mr. Billy's
2008 Six Leg Songs CD was extremely popular with
librarians nation-wide and 1,000 copies in just 30 days.
Now Monty Harper and Mr. Billy are teaming up to bring
you nothing short of the greatest summer reading themed
CD ever!
EVEN MORE...
Between October 2008 and January 2009, children's
musicians Monty Harper and Mr. Billy wrote and recorded
12 songs together, without ever occupying the same room
at the same time. How did this strange trick of digital
wizardry come about?
Monty Harper and Mr. Billy's paths first crossed a
couple of years ago on the Children's Music Network
listserve, where their similar interests led them to
speculate the possibility that they could be long lost
twins.
Since then they have supported one another's work in
various ways, including writing and recording several
songs together.
Around August they found themselves doing the "psychic
twin" thing once again, as they each prepared to create
their own "Be Creative at Your Library" CDs. As the
world can only use so many summer-library-
program-themed CDs, it seemed only natural that they
should team up to do one together.
However, many details conspired to stand in their way.
One partner lives in Oklahoma, the other in Wisconsin.
One of them works on an iMac computer, the other on a
Windows machine. One of them votes Democratic, the other
Republican. One of them watches Lost, the other
Survivor. One of them drinks Coke, the other Pepsi.
They had found that perhaps they were not so "twinnish"
after all.
But through many emails, phone calls, and Skype sessions
they managed to plan and write twelve new songs
together. Through the magic of electronic file transfer,
they melded their instruments and voices together. After
all that effort, there is one thing they do agree on.
Both are more than pleased with the results!
While Monty and Billy have each produced highly
acclaimed CDs on their own, working together has raised
their standards of excellence.
Their talents are very complementary, and so are these
comments, made by each about the other:
"Monty is a phenomenal children's lyricist," says Mr.
Billy. "His attention to detail is maddening. And he
sings pretty, too."
"Mr. Billy is a killer musician," says Monty. "He works
annoyingly quickly, and his arrangements are amazing."
"This CD is our best ever!" they say together. There
they go doing that twin thing once again!
So, at least two people are impressed with the new
"Let's Get Creative CD." Can we make it three? You be
the judge!
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